Patrons

Eric Idle

I am entirely persuaded of the ethical case for giving people the right to seek assistance in dying when they have a terminal illness with symptoms that are both unbearable and unable to be alleviated by good care.

Research from the UK

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Voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia in the UK

In 2009 Professor Clive Seale published research which examined the end-of-life decisions made by doctors[1]. His research was the first of its kind and demonstrates that voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia is practiced in the UK. It currently goes on without safeguards.

0.21% of life was ended with an explicit request from the patient, in other words, voluntary euthanasia.

0.30% of life was ended without an explicit request from the patient, in other words, non-voluntary euthanasia.

Hastening end-of-life

In 2009 Professor Clive Seale published research which found that a ‘significant minority’ of doctors reported making decisions that they think will hasten the death of a patient[2]. In a third of cases (277 out of 2,809), doctors said that they withheld/withdrew treatment or used a drug to alleviate pain to control symptoms with the intention or expectation of hastening the end-of-life.

28.9% of decisions involved the expectation to hasten the end-of- life. 7.4% of decisions involved the intention to hasten the end-of- life.

9.8% of patients verbally expressed a request for the end of his or her life to be hastened. In the majority of cases (74%) the request stayed consistent.

Suicide

In 2011 the think-tank, Demos, published research which looked at the impact of terminal and chronic illness on suicide[3]. This was the first research of its kind. The evidence they collected from coroners and Primary Care Trusts showed that approximately 10% of suicides that take place in England involve people with either a chronic or terminal illness. In 2009 there were 4390 suicides in England, so an estimated 439 people with a terminal illness may have taken their own lives in that year.